Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Kim & Chang, BKL compete to represent Tada
Carnival minivans used in VCNC's Tada ride-hailing service run a street in Seoul parked on the street in Seoul. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Lee Jae-hoo, representative of Kim & Chang
Kim & Chang and other major law firms, such as Bae, Kim and Lee (BKL) and Lee & Ko, have entered begun to compete to represent the recently indicted CEOs of the operators of the rental van-hailing service Tada, in a bid to take the lead in economy-related lawsuits, industry sources said Wednesday.
They added that relatively smaller firms Shin & Kim and L.K.B & Partners are also considering joining the race.
VCNC, the Tada service operator and a subsidiary of car-sharing service SoCar, has encountered a crisis, which could lead to the suspension of its business, after prosecutors indicted VCNC CEO Park Jae-uk and SoCar CEO Lee Jae-woong without detention, Oct. 28, declaring the app-based business “illegal.”
Kim Sung-jin, managing partner of BKL
Law firms have been battling to represent VCNC, which operates the Tada service, as they can expect not only a revenue rise but also a pioneering image in lawsuits related to technology issues in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Law firms regard the Tada case as a symbolic lawsuit because it will be the first trial related to businesses in the sharing economy,” Jung Jae-hoon, a lawyer and founder of legal tech startup Legalinsight, said. “By getting to represent the case, the law firm can not only boost its revenue, but also improve its competence and market presence in the long term.”
He noted the case will have great impact on the country's sharing economy because the trial will decide whether Tada is a rental car service or an illegal transportation service without a proper license.
“As it will eventually become a milestone that shows the change of an era, no law firm wants to miss out on the opportunity,” Jung said.
VCNC operates 1,400 vans and employs 9,000 drivers. About 1.3 million users have registered with the service, even though the fares are slightly higher than for taxis, since October 2018.
But the company has faced a fierce setback from taxi drivers whose unions have called Tada illegal because the service transports passengers for money without a taxi license.
VCNC claimed the van-hailing service is within legal boundaries because its service complies with the Passenger Transport Service Act that permits companies to provide drivers with rental vehicles having 11 seats or more.
When asked which law firms it would hire, a SoCar official said nothing has been decided yet.
“We have not decided which law firm we will use. As all eyes are on the trial, we are paying careful attention in hiring right attorney,” the official said.